‘Marathon’ shines light on Gaza’s orphaned children and humanitarian crisis

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – As soon arsenic the whistle blew, they each dashed disconnected – and for a little moment, cipher focused connected the demolition surrounding them.

Cheered connected by relatives and friends, dozens of young boys and girls connected Friday took portion successful a contention aimed astatine highlighting the struggles of children who person mislaid 1 oregon some parents during Israel’s genocidal warfare against Palestinians successful the Gaza Strip.

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“I miss my begetter each day. He utilized to instrumentality attraction of everything for us,” said 13-year-old Saif Hijazi, whose father, Rami Hijazi, was killed successful an Israeli onslaught that deed the household location successful bluish Gaza successful January 2024.

Unlike the different children, Saif was not capable to articulation successful the running. Paralysed since January 2025, erstwhile Israeli artillery shelling deed adjacent his displaced family’s tent, helium watched from his wheelchair arsenic his younger siblings ran alongside different orphaned children.

“Since I was injured, I can’t locomotion oregon determination connected my ain anymore,” helium said, speaking slowly. “I conscionable privation my beingness to get better.”

Warda Hijazi with her children: Saif, centre, 13, who was severely injured and near paralysed during the war, her girl Sarah, 9, and her lad Ammar, 10 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

‘Most affected’

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks connected Gaza person killed much than 73,000 people, according to wellness officials successful the territory. The United Nations children agency, oregon UNICEF, says much than 58,000 children successful Gaza person mislaid 1 oregon some parents, portion much than 1 cardinal children necessitate extortion and psychosocial enactment owed to the interaction of the ongoing war.

UNICEF has besides antecedently estimated that astir 17,000 children were unaccompanied oregon separated from their families, creating 1 of the largest kid extortion crises facing children successful Gaza.

Many of these children are surviving done repeated displacement, nonaccomplishment of income and constricted entree to indispensable services, including healthcare, acquisition and protection.

In an effort to rise consciousness astir the plight of orphaned children successful Gaza and promote enactment for families caring for them, International Networking for Humanitarian (INH) Indonesia organised Friday’s moving lawsuit successful the confederate metropolis of Khan Younis. Dubbed a “marathon”, the contention brought unneurotic orphaned children from crossed Gaza, giving them a abstraction to enactment successful a nationalist enactment and consciousness supported by their community.

“Orphans are ever among the astir affected groups successful wars,” said Mohammed Yassin, task coordinator astatine INH Indonesia. “No substance however overmuch effort we marque arsenic an organisation, we cannot scope each of them,” helium added.

“Through these activities, we effort to punctual the satellite and promote radical to enactment them and supply sponsorship that tin assistance them successful their regular lives.”

Yassin said families successful Gaza that inactive person a supplier “are already struggling” to unafraid the minimum necessities due to the fact that of the nonaccomplishment of purchasing powerfulness and the challenging regular conditions amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.

“But erstwhile a household loses its main provider, the suffering becomes overmuch greater successful securing basal needs specified arsenic h2o and food,” helium added.

Children instrumentality portion successful the lawsuit successful Khan Younis [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

‘No choice’

It is simply a world that Saif’s mother, Warda Hijazi, knows each excessively well.

Since her husband’s killing, the 33-year-old has been facing a regular battle: caring for Saif, who besides suffers from kidney paralysis, astatine “every moment”, portion besides trying to conscionable the needs of his younger siblings, nine-year-old Sarah and 10-year-old Ammar.

“Everything has go my responsibility,” said Warda. “Their food, their medicine, raising them, and trying to marque up for the emotion and attraction they lost,” she added.

After aggregate displacements, Warda and her children are present temporarily sheltering successful al-Zawaida, successful cardinal Gaza.

She said losing her hubby and past seeing Saif severely wounded pushed her into terrible depression, earlier receiving intelligence enactment done a assemblage programme that helped her regain immoderate quality to cope.

But that enactment has not changed the world of her regular life. She remains solely liable for her children’s needs nether highly hard conditions.

“Sometimes, I consciousness the load is greater than what I tin handle, but I person nary prime but to continue,” said Warda.

“Orphaned children are surviving done a precise hard reality,” she added. “They bash not lone request food; they request idiosyncratic to marque them consciousness safe, to clasp their grief and springiness them the emotion they lost.”

Samah Abu Amra, a parent of 5 orphaned children, mislaid her hubby during the archetypal months of the warfare successful an Israeli onslaught [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

‘An orphan needs to beryllium seen and heard’

The communicative of Saif and his parent reflects a wider situation affecting thousands of families crossed Gaza.

“Life is highly difficult, and the concern is beyond what anyone tin bear,” said Samah Abu Amra, a 43-year-old parent of 5 children aged betwixt 7 and 19.

The displaced widow from Rafah became the sole caregiver of her children aft her hubby was killed successful an Israeli onslaught portion walking connected the thoroughfare successful Khan Younis during the archetypal twelvemonth of the war.

“I cannot supply everything they need,” she said. :Children request psychological, fiscal and affectional support. They request food, clothes, acquisition and adjacent clip for recreation. These are galore responsibilities for 1 parent to transportation alone.”

Abu Amra said galore children orphaned during the ongoing warfare are not receiving the aforesaid level of enactment that was disposable successful erstwhile conflicts, urging greater attraction to the issue.

“An orphan needs to beryllium seen and heard. Their needs indispensable beryllium met. They request idiosyncratic who asks astir them and cares for them, not conscionable impermanent assistance,” she added.

Yassin, of INH Indonesia, agreed.

“We telephone connected planetary organisations and quality rights bodies to absorption much humanitarian efforts connected these cases due to the fact that they are among the groups astir affected successful societies impacted by war,” helium said.

Celebrations arsenic the winners person their medals [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Back astatine the makeshift moving track, a chorus of cheers erupted arsenic the young runners crossed the decorativeness line. As soon arsenic the contention was over, the children began lining up,

excited to person their medals.

The organisers besides symbolically honoured 100 orphaned children – Saif’s sanction was the archetypal to beryllium called arsenic a tribute to his courageousness and the travel helium has endured since losing his begetter and becoming babelike connected others aft his injury.

“My lad needs to consciousness that helium is inactive portion of this world, that radical spot him and attraction astir him,” said Warda, arsenic she watched her lad person his medal.

“These orphaned children person mislaid truthful much, but they inactive merit much enactment and hope.”

Saif Hijazi was honoured astatine the lawsuit [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]